Contact Person: Patricia A. McCluskey, Ph.D., D.Min., LP
Executive Director
248-474-4701
The Pastoral Care Specialist Program is a certificate program designed for pastors and lay pastoral caregivers who are responsible to meet the pastoral care needs of congregations. The program seeks to strengthen the personal pastoral identity and spirituality of caregivers and to enable them to provide pastoral care in a way that integrates the spiritual dimension and resources of one’s faith tradition with current theoretical understandings and practical skills. The program also provides the training needed for admission to the American Association of Pastoral Counselors as a Pastoral Care Specialist which is a general membership category for people who have received special training in the area of brief, supportive pastoral care.
Program Components:
The program consists of 60 hours of training. Each session includes three components:
· Didactic Seminars: focus on the theoretical foundations and practical aspects of pastoral care and supportive counseling with multi-contexts.
· Clinical Consultation: conducted within a group context where participants can share and reflect upon counseling experiences.
· Peer Support Group: a confidential setting in which personal growth is encouraged through sharing and reflection on the issues and challenges encountered in one’s personal journey.
Didactic Seminar Topics:
· Pastoral Care & Counseling: An Introduction
· Human Development as the Context for Pastoral Care
· Professional & Pastoral Identity
· Basic Counseling Skills
· Integrating the Spiritual Dimension
· The Dynamics of Grief and Loss
· Anger Management
· Crisis Intervention
· Referral Counseling
· Suicide
· Addictions: Understanding & Treatment Intervention
· Pastoral Counseling of the Aging
· Pastoral Care of Couples: Building & Maintaining Healthy Relationships
· Pastoral Care of the Family: A Systems Approach
· Pastoral Care of the Faith Community
Avoiding Burnout: Care of the Caregiver
*Other topics may be suggested by the group
Program Sites, Format, & Schedule:
The program consists of 10 sessions functioning from 9:00a.m.- 4:00p.m. providing a total of 60 hours of training. The The 2012-13 programs to be offered in:
- Farmington Hills, MI: second Tuesday of each month (September – June) beginning September 11.
- Holland, MI: typically meets the 1st Tuesday of the month, beginning with 2 sessions in October (10/2 and 10/16) through June, 2013
- Flint, MI: third Tuesday of each month (Sept-June) beginning September 18th.
Registrations are now being accepted for all programs. All registrations are to be sent to the Samaritan Counseling Center as stated on the application form.
Tuition and Fees:
Registration fee: $60 (to be included with application)
Tuition: $1200
Enrollment Deadlines:
Farmington Hills: August 31, 2012
Flint: August 31, 2012
Holland: September 14, 2012
